All Forum Posts by: Jason Malabute

@Jason Malabute I described above, the calculation I have seen used for lot size is $3000/acre. A 1 acre lot would be $3000 less ARV than a 2 acre, etc.

In my area improvements are listed on the Assessors site, giving the SF size.

@Jason Malabute I am in a new market, however when i bought my current house, I got a copy of the appraisal. The values he used up/down almost mirrored my last market (central CT), so I simply used what I "knew".

As far as a patio, if my house didn't have one, but a comparable house had a 200 SF one, then I would adjust by 200 SF x $10/SF or $2000. It is not by any means that this is exact, however it helps me get an idea, as well as gets me solid comparables for the day an actual appraisal happens.

Regarding living verse total SF, I feel weird saying this, but what do you mean total SF? If a house is a 1000 SF ranch with a full unfinished basement, I compare it as a 1000 SF house. If it has a 500 SF section of the basement finished, I treat that area as the appraisers did, which was a reduced $/SF amount. What other SF would be included in the total?

@Jason Malabute this is all part of the "art" of running comps and getting your ARV. Lately I have been treating them like an appraisal. I have a few appraisals in my folders and use the adjustments they used. $30/SF for main living space. $10/SF for decks/patios and basement living space. $3000/acre. I don't know that this is the best way, however I have seen it compared with realtor CMAs and my numbers are usually right where those come in. I do my best to get houses in the same area, similar style, similar age, and if possible only use renovated houses. If there is anything that's tough to adjust (exact location) i am just conservative.

@Jason Malabute this is all part of the "art" of running comps and getting your ARV. Lately I have been treating them like an appraisal. I have a few appraisals in my folders and use the adjustments they used. $30/SF for main living space. $10/SF for decks/patios and basement living space. $3000/acre. I don't know that this is the best way, however I have seen it compared with realtor CMAs and my numbers are usually right where those come in. I do my best to get houses in the same area, similar style, similar age, and if possible only use renovated houses. If there is anything that's tough to adjust (exact location) i am just conservative.

@Scott R. thanks for the article. I agree that accurately calculating adjustments is a judgment call based on the individual market, and that's why I think I need to get a whole lot of practice and experience to become good at it. 

@Joe Homs thanks for the feedback. Yes, the listing price seemed a little too good to be true but then it's a short sale so depends on what the bank is willing to accept. The agent told me that the short sale was accepted by the bank and went into a binding contract with some buyer (although she didn't sound 100% sure) so no more showings. I'll have to find a vacant home like you say to crunch some real numbers..

@Jason Malabute I applaud you for not letting your disability hinder your goals!  Just remember everyone has strengths and weaknesses, capitalize on your strengths.  I used to hate presenting in college; I'm an introvert and much rather not have everyone's eyes on me while I'm talking.  One day though, I had a break through: familiarizing myself with the material I was presenting to a point where I knew the subject thoroughly.  Every time I presented, I aimed to be the authority on the subject so that I didn't stumble over my own words and no questions would catch me off guard.  It got to the point where I actually enjoyed giving presentations!  Think this could be key for you.  I believe if you study and practice cold calling (with people you know), you will be able to overcome your speech impediment because you become comfortable with the subject and how you run your business.  

Wishing you all the best!  Please keep us posted regarding your progress.  I'm inspired by your determination to go after your goals and am sure others in this community will be just as inspired and find themselves cheering for you from their computers.

This is a tough one because I don't know anyone with your condition. What I can say is that I can send you all the best scripts I have and you can take a look at them and ask me any questions you want and I'm happy to help you. Then you can decide whether you are up for trying to talk to people / practice (call some Craigslist ads). If you can't do it but learn how to do it, you may be able to train someone you trust to do it on your behalf. Or you can leave this part of the supply chain and work on something like rehabing and picking up deals from a solid wholesaler or other means. Up to you many options. It's good to play to our strengths and acknowledge our own weaknesses. Shoot me a msg if you want scripts and any help.

@Jason Malabute

Negative, would not use a call center because skill in listening for distress and motivation while building rapport with sellers and helping them solve problems by communicating key information is crucial and greatly amps up your conversion rate so I wouldn't outsource this function personally. 

Do you have anyone you personally know that has the time to answer calls and would be part of your team starting off? Going to a call-center from the get-go is outsourcing a vital function without doing in-house first. Makes sense if you know what you're doing and have scaled up but your condition sounds difficult to talk to sellers so creative thinking may be in order? 

Also, I'm a big advocate of bootstrapping when you start off and keeping costs low and then outsourcing low value added activities first, not the high value ones that you should spend your attention on.

Jason,

It isn't reasonable for your agent to call on your behalf. 

My suggestion is to have someone cold call for you, and take your calls. That way, you have some time to write down what you want to say when you call them back, and you are in control of the conversation. 

Hope that helps.

Good Luck!